Virgin Boss Sir Richard Branson wins rights to richardbranson.xxx

Domain investors and speculators will always register and buy domains with new TLDs (domain extensions such as .com, .net, and .biz) with the hope of making huge profits. The prospect of registering a domain name for anything between $7 and $100 and then selling it back later for 4, 5 or even 6 figures is enough to have even the savviest of investors splashing out on new TLDs.

Amongst these investors, are persons who will try to register the domains of popular brands and popular individual/celebs, with the hope of profiting from the sale of the domain name or from the traffic going to such domain names.

The .xxx domain extension was introduced as a home for pornography and other adult-orientated web sites in 2011.

Sir Richard Branson, the tycoon behind the Virgin brands had been in dispute with Australian Sean Truman, who registered the domain name last year.

The National Arbitration Forum (NAF), a US-based adjudication body, ruled that Mr Truman had registered and used richardbranson.xxx “in bad faith”.

ICANN, the body which has overall responsibility for domain names, had ordered the transfer of the richardbranson.xxx domain name to Virgin.

Brands/trademark owners were given the opportunity to block the registration of an .xxx domain name last year before they were made available for general public registration. Quite a few brands and celebrities did not get around doing this. Either they were not aware of the launch of the new TLD, got around to doing it too late or just could not be bothered.

In Mr Truman’s argument to the NAF, he contended that he had registered the domain name as a “souvenir” because of his admiration of Sir Richard Branson.

The NAF ruled that Mr Truman should have recognized that his registration and control of richardbranson.xxx “would serve to vex or embarrass” Sir Richard Branson.

Should celebs and brands be forced to have to protect their names and brands every time a new domain TLD is launched?

Brand protection is just as important as brand promotion. Someone owning a domain name for your brand and using it for unscrupulous purposes could end up causing some serious damages to your reputation.

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Kevin Jackson is the founder of eBusinessDomains.com. He is a Chartered Certified Accountant, entrepreneur and branding enthusiast. He has spent many years investing in domain names – buying, selling and developing domain into brands.

He has helped many businesses successfully launch their web destinations, from choosing the right domain name to creating the right business plan and branding strategies.

Check out one of his personal brands at Widest.com. He owns a few premium domain names, including Aeroplanes.com and Displace.com, which are earmarked for development.